Taming the Dragon
by moonstonemystyk
Summary: Marietta Grant was sent to England by her Aunt, where she meets Charlie Weasley. He helps her to unravel the mystery of who her father is. CharlieOC, HarryGinny, RonHermione
1. Prologue

Taming the Dragon  
By moonstonemystyk  
moonstonemystykyahoo.com

  


Taming the Dragon   
  
Prologue 

Marietta Grant left the hospital in tears. Her Aunt, who had raised her, had given in to the disease that had been eating away at her for two years. The nurses had called her this morning and told her that her Aunt was asking for her. 

Flashback  
Marietta sat down at her Aunt's bedside and took her hand, "I'm here Aunt Kate," she said to the woman in the bed. 

Kate Grant slowly opened her eyes and looked at her niece. "I won't be with you much longer, Mari. I wanted to clear the air about your parents," she wheezed. "In the box under my bed is a letter, written in blue ink on parchment. When you were brought to me after your mother died, the letter was pinned to your blanket. It came from a man that knew your mother, I know nothing about her life in England. I was away at school when she was born, and I came here when I graduated. I spoke to her once a month, but I know very little. All she said about your father is that she loved him." She reached over and grabbed Marietta's hand. "She met him at school, she always called him her slithering snake. Find the man who wrote the letter, maybe he can tell you more about him." 

Marietta squeezed her Aunt's hand, "It doesn't matter," she told her. 

Kate struggled to sit up, "Promise me that you'll find him Mari. You were only eleven when the last letter came. I never opened it, I just scribbled a short note and sent it back with the owl that delivered it. Find that man, and maybe you'll find more people that knew your mother." 

"I promise, Aunt Kate. I will go to England and find the man that sent the letter," she sighed. 

End Flashback 

Her Aunt had died twenty minutes later. She went through the rest of the week in a sort of haze, only eating when her fiends made her sit down, and only sleeping when she could no longer stay awake. The morning after the funeral, she pulled the box from under her Aunt's bed. She searched through it until she found the heavy parchment with the sapphire blue ink, she took the letter and crawled up onto her Aunt's bed. She gently opened the letter and began reading. 

Ms. Grant,  
Your sister had requested that you receive custody of her daughter should anything happen to her. I ask you to please care for her until such a time that her father is able to assist in raising her. At this time, he is unaware of her birth and it must remain that way for now. 

If Marietta has any questions about her parents that you cannot answer, please refer her to me. Your sister left a substantial amount of money to Marietta, you will receive a check once a month, to help with deferring the cost of raising her. Please accept my deepest sympathies on the loss of your sister. She was a wonderful woman and will be missed by many. 

Yours Sincerely, 

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore 

Marietta folded the letter and looked around the room. She was going to go to England and find Albus Dumbledore. 

She spent the next week packing things and finding someone to stay at her Aunt's house while she was gone. "Are you sure that you want to go to England?" Lisa asked her. 

"I promised Aunt Kate that I would find Albus Dumbledore and find out about my parents. My mother lived in England, and I'm sure that she had friends there. I'm hoping that someone over there will be able to tell me about her," she explained as she closed her suitcase. "I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, or if I'll even be coming back here to live. If I decide to stay there, I'll let you know before I put the house up for sale." 

Lisa sighed, "If you decide to sell the house, I'll buy it. I spent a lot of my childhood in this house." 

Marietta laughed, "It always seemed like you never went home." She hugged her friend, "Once you drop me at the airport, the house will be yours." 

Charlie Weasley stepped out of the Leaky Cauldron and into muggle London. He was searching for a gift for his father, and something muggle was always a good choice. He wasn't watching where he was going, and walked right into someone, knocking them to the ground. "I'm so sorry," he said as he turned to help them up. He looked down and saw a woman with long brown hair, rubbing her elbow. 

"No problem, I wasn't looking where I was going," she told him as he offered her his hand to help her up. 

"Are you alright?" he asked as she brushed the hair back from her face. 

"Yes, I'm fine," she told him, brushing the dust off of her pants. 

He smiled at her, "My name's Charlie Weasley," he said holding out his hand. 

She looked at the hand and then to the red haired man it was attached to, "Marietta Grant," she told him, shaking his hand. 

"Well Marietta, my mother would be offended if I didn't offer to buy you some tea for knocking you down," he said. 

She looked at him again, taking in the way his freckles were so plentiful that they almost looked like a tan and how his brown eyes sparkled with his smile. "I think that a cup of tea would be wonderful right now. I've been trudging around London all day, and I still haven't found who I came here to see." 

He led her into the Leaky Cauldron and ordered tea for them, "Who are you looking for?" he asked. 

Tom came over and placed cups of tea and a plate of biscuits on the table in front of them. "Albus Dumbledore," she told him.  



	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Charlie sloshed tea over his hand, "You're looking for Dumbledore?" he asked, carefully setting the cup down and drying his hand on a napkin.  
  
Marietta nodded her head, "I was sent to live with my aunt when my mother died. There was a letter pinned to my blanket and it was signed by Albus Dumbledore. When my aunt died, she made me promise to find him, so that he could tell me all of the things about my parents that she didn't know." She reached into her bag and pulled out the parchment, "This is the letter, I figured that I would bring it with me, just in case."  
  
Charlie took the letter and quickly scanned it, "My mum used to be friends with a woman named Lucy Grant," he stated as he handed the letter back to her.  
  
Marietta looked up at him, "That's what my aunt used to call my mother, Lucy. Do you think that your mother's friend might have been my mother?"  
  
"There's one way to find out," he told her. He grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the bar. "Thanks Tom," he said as he paid for their tea. "Follow me," he said as he walked toward the fireplace. He grabbed a container from the mantle and took a pinch of powder from it. "How much do you know about Albus Dumbledore?"  
  
She shrugged her shoulders, "Just his name. My aunt lived in the states, all she knew was that he was the one to write the letter that she got when I came to live with her." She looked down at the hand that was holding the powder, "What is that for?" she asked.  
  
Charlie watched her as she asked about the floo powder, "It's called floo powder, don't you use it in the states?"  
  
She shook her head, "Not that I know of, what is it used for?"  
  
Charlie laughed, "It's used to travel through the floo network."  
  
Marietta looked at him blankly.  
  
"We're going to use the fireplace to travel to my parent's house," he explained. Marietta laughed. He looked at her, "What are you laughing at?"  
  
"Is this some kind of joke that you play on tourists?" she asked, laughter lighting up her dark chocolate eyes.  
  
"Well, if you have your wand, we could apperate," he said. He watched her face looking for any signs that she knew what he was talking about.  
  
"Well, I don't have a wand. I never saw the point of carrying around toys," she said.  
  
Charlie grabbed her hand, "Marietta, was there anything unusual about your childhood? Maybe strange letters delivered by owls, a school where you learned things that weren't part of regular school programs?"  
  
Marietta shook her head, "No, I grew up in a house with my aunt. I attended school, then college," she paused. "Wait a second, did you just say letters delivered by owls?"  
  
Charlie nodded.  
  
"My aunt said something to me before she died," she said. "I think it was something like, 'The last letter came when you were eleven, I didn't open it, I just scribbled a note on it and sent it back with the owl that delivered it'."  
  
Charlie patted her shoulder and put the pinch of floo powder back into the jar, "I don't think that you're quite ready for floo powder. Just take my hand and close your eyes, I'll make sure that my mum contacts Dumbledore as soon as we get there." She grabbed his hand and closed her eyes, with a pop, they disappeared.  
  
Charlie apperated them both to the burrow, and quickly patted himself down to be sure that he hadn't left anything behind, dual apperating was tricky business. "You might want to check and make sure that we didn't leave any parts behind," he told her as he slowly released her hand.  
  
Marietta opened her eyes and screamed, "Where are we? How did we get here?"  
  
Charlie motioned for her to turn around, and as she did, the most amazing site met her eyes. It was a house, but like none she had ever seen before. It stood at least four stories high, with rooms coming off at odd angles, it even looked as if it was leaning slightly. In front of the door were several pairs of shoes and something that resembled a large cooking pot. Charlie watched the wonder on her face when she first caught sight of his childhood home. She looked from the door to the roof, and back again, her eyes getting bigger as she noticed the rooms that had been added on.  
  
"Welcome to the burrow," he told her. He reached over and put his hand over her arm, "Let's go inside." He led her to the door, opened it and motioned for her to precede him inside.  
  
He closed the door behind him and watched her glance around the room, until she came across the sink. Her eyes grew as big as saucers, and she turned to him.  
  
She was looking around the room as she stepped in the door, she stopped when she saw dishes in the sink, washing themselves. "Charlie," she whispered. "I think that there is something wrong with me," she turned around and faced him.  
  
He smiled at her, "There is nothing wrong with you, there are a lot of things that I didn't tell you." He led her over to the table in the middle of the room. "Let me get my mum to contact Dumbledore and I'll explain."  
  
She nodded her head and sat down in one of the many chairs. "I'll just sit here," she told him. He patted her shoulder and walked out of the kitchen.  
  
Marietta's eyes kept straying to the sink, she watched the dishes for a few seconds and then jumped up from the table and walked over. She touched the plate that the brush was washing, and checked for strings or wires that would make what she was seeing possible.  
  
Charlie found his mother in the living room, she was knitting a sweater. From the color of the yarn, he could tell that it was for Harry. She always made sure that the boy received a Weasley sweater every Christmas, and pestered Dumbledore every summer for him to come and stay with them. His mother had a very large heart, and loved him like he was one of her own. He cleared his throat, "Mum," he said.  
  
Molly Weasley looked up and smiled at her second son, "What do you need Charlie?"  
  
He smiled at her, "Mum, do you remember Lucy Grant?"  
  
"She was my best friend, Charlie. What about her?" Molly's eyes filled with tears at the mention of her best friend.  
  
He sat down on the table in front of her, "Well, I was going into muggle London today to find a gift for dad. I knocked a woman down, and to apologize for it, I took her for tea. She's in London looking for Dumbledore. She has a letter from him that was pinned to her blanket when she was taken to her aunt. Her mother was killed and she went to live with her mother's sister. I figured that I would bring her here and have you contact Dumbledore."  
  
"What does that have to do with Lucy Grant?" she asked.  
  
Charlie clapped his hand to his forehead, "Sorry about that mum, her aunt's last name was Grant and she said that her aunt used to call her mother Lucy."  
  
Molly jumped up from her seat, "What is the girl's name?" she asked.  
  
"Marietta," he said, but his mother was already on her way into the kitchen before he finished. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Molly pushed through the kitchen door and stopped. She stood there watching the young woman, who was staring in awe at the dishes.

"It's just a charm," Molly told her, coming completely into the room. The woman turned around and looked at Molly. "You look so much like your mother," she said.

The woman smiled at Molly, "I guess that meeting Charlie was fate. The first friendly person I meet in England knew my mother," she said. She smiled at the older woman, "After a week here, I didn't think that I would ever find anyone that knew Albus Dumbledore."

Molly smiled at her, "I'll contact Albus in a few minutes," she said. She motioned for the young woman to sit down at the table, "Would you like some tea, or maybe something to eat?" she asked.

Marietta smiled at the red haired woman, "No thank you, your son and I had tea right before we came here."

Molly dropped down into one of the chairs that were scattered around the table. "I never thought that I would see you again," Molly sobbed, tears running unreservedly down her cheeks. "When your mother was killed, I offered to take you. She had already made arrangements in case something happened to her." She stopped talking and wiped the moisture from her face. "Your mother was the most wonderful woman," she said as she patted the younger woman's hand. "You spent a lot of time here when you were young. I didn't get a little girl until my seventh try, so you were wonderful to have around. Charlie and Bill used to love to play with you."

Charlie watched his mother with the young woman that he had ran into. "Mum, are you telling me that Marietta used to play with us when we were small?"

Molly smiled at Charlie. "Mari used to be here every day. You and Bill would get up in the morning, have breakfast and sit by the fireplace waiting for her to get here. The two of you got on so well together when she was here, always on your best behavior for her. You even shared your toy brooms with her."

Marietta watched the way the two interacted. She closed her eyes and tried to remember coming to this amazing house. She remembered her toes just brushing the grass, and bright red hair but nothing else. "I don't remember much before I went to my aunt's house. Just images like my toes brushing the grass."

Molly smiled and pulled her wand out of her apron. "I could help you to remember if you want," she said. "Your mother cast a memory charm on you that would only be activated if something happened to her. She didn't want you to suffer from your memories of the wizarding world when you would be living in the muggle world."

Charlie sat down next to her and patted her on the arm. "All it will do is bring back your memories of before you were sent to your aunt."

Marietta smiled at him and nodded her head at Molly. With a quick wave she cast the spell. With her eyes closed she could see her childhood playing out. Her mother's smiling face, and spending her days with a family of red heads that fate brought her back to. She opened her eyes and looked over at Molly. "Aunt Molly?"

Molly gathered the girl up into her arms. "It's alright Mari, your mother left some things for you. A pensieve, some wizarding photos, her house and the contents of her vault."

Marietta wiped her eyes and smiled at Charlie. "I remember you," she told him. "I remember hearing my mother and your parents talking about the two of us." She stopped and looked over at Molly. "Is there a contract?" she asked.

Molly looked at her, shocked. "We didn't think that anyone had heard that," she said. "It was your mother's idea to pledge you to Charlie, but when you were sent to live with your aunt we just put the contract in the vault and forgot about it."

Charlie looked at his mother. "Wait a second, you have a marriage contract for the two of us?"

Molly smiled. "The two of you were inseparable, Lucy thought that we should raise the two of you knowing that one day you would get married. You were always walking around holding hands, and when we lay the two of you down for naps you had to be right next to each other." Molly patted Marietta on the arm and got up from the table. "I'm just going to call Albus, he should be able to answer any questions that you have."

Charlie sat next to her, staring off into space. "What's wrong?" she asked.

He looked over at her and smiled. "Our mothers signed a marriage contract for us, you know what that means don't you?"

She leaned over toward him. "Does it mean that we'll have to get married someday?" she asked, a smile creeping up on the corners of her mouth.

Charlie leaned back in his chair and laughed. "Well, it's a wizarding contract, so we'll have a few months to get to know each other before they will require us to get married."

Marietta sat back and crossed her arms. "Do you think that I can do magic?"

Charlie leaned forward. "I'm sure of it. I guess that we'll have to talk to Dumbledore to find out how you're going to get your magical education. I think that you're too old to attend Hogwarts, and that would take you seven more years."

"Seven years? That's a long time," she answered.

"My brother is just finishing his last year, and my sister still has one year to go," he explained. "They've been going to Hogwarts since they were eleven."

"Oh no, I'll be learning things that I should have learned when I was eleven?" she asked. "Talk about being behind."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Miss. Grant. I'm sure that with the help of the Weasley family, Hermione, and Harry you could be caught up to a fourth or fifth year by the end of the summer. You have much to learn, but I'm sure that it will be a wonderful experience for you." Albus Dumbledore sat down at the table with them. "I am Albus Dumbledore, and Molly tells me that you have been looking for me."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Marietta looked at the grey haired man sitting across the table from her. "Mr. Dumbledore, right before my aunt died she told me where to find the letter that was with me when I was sent to live with her. She made me promise to find you, so that I could find out about my parents," she said.

Albus smiled at her. "Call me Albus, my dear. I knew your mother, and she was concerned that you would be drawn to the wrong side of the war if you stayed here. Hopefully, now that we are again fighting a war with the same evil wizard, you will be drawn to the side of the light." He paused and watched Charlie's face as he stared at the young woman sitting with them. "My suggestion is that you stay here with the Weasley family, where you will be safe from harm and will be near wizards and witches that can instruct you in the things you should have learned at Hogwarts."

Marietta looked at Molly, who was standing behind the elder wizard. She smiled and winked at her. "We can put her in Percy's old room," she said.

"What about Harry and Hermione?" Charlie asked.

"We'll figure that out when they get here in three days. I'm sure that they'll have some suggestions," she said.

After Albus had left, Molly set about preparing dinner for the family. "When your father gets home Charlie, the two of you can take Marietta to collect her things from Muggle London. I've already contacted Ollivander's and he will be waiting for you to bring her in for her wand," she stated as the potatoes she had taken out began shedding their skins and she waved her wand to slice them. "If you have time after you get her things, you could stop at Gringotts so that she can get some money."

Marietta shook her head, "I have money with me. I figured that I would be here for awhile so I cleaned out my bank account before I left the states."

Charlie laughed, "What you have is Muggle money, you need wizard money," he explained.

Mari groaned. "It's bad enough that I'm still trying to figure out British funds, but now I have to deal with another type of money?"

"Do you have a handbag, dear?" Molly asked. "We don't use paper money in the wizarding world," she said.

Charlie pulled a small bag from his pocket. "Here, I'll show you," he told her as he pulled out some money. "This gold one is called a galleon, the silver one is a sickle, and the bronze one is a knut," he explained. "There are seventeen sickles to a galleon, and twenty nine knuts to a sickle."

She picked up one of the silver coins, "So I can use these anywhere?" she asked.

Molly patted her head, "In the wizarding world, yes. But if you're going to buy anything in the Muggle world, you'll have to exchange the galleons at Gringotts. You can get a decent exchange rate if Bill is with you, but they'll take advantage of you if you don't know better." She waved her wand at the potatoes and they soared into the waiting pot. "Charlie while the two of you are waiting for your father, why don't you grab some of your brother's or sister's old books and let her get acquainted with some of the things she'll be learning?"

Charlie smiled and jumped up from the table. "I'll go and grab their first year books," he said.

"Grab charms and transfiguration," Molly shouted as he ran up the steps. "They are the most useful and the one's that her mother excelled at."

When Arthur Weasley arrived home, he found his wife in the kitchen humming a tune that he hadn't heard since their children were small. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Arthur, the most wonderful thing has happened," she started.

He turned her around and kissed her. "What is so wonderful?" he asked. She opened her mouth to answer when the door to the kitchen flew open, Mari and Charlie came running through it.

"Aunt Molly, guess what I can do with Charlie's wand," she rushed out, grinning. She raised the wand and pointed it at the tea cup on the table. "Wingardium Leviosa," she said in a strong voice. The tea cup lifted up off of the table and floated over to her. "I can do magic," she said gleefully. She danced her way over to Charlie and hugged him. "When can we go and get my wand? Charlie said that my wand will work better for me, that I'll never get as good a result with someone else's wand."

Molly smiled, "Arthur, you remember Mari, don't you?"

"Marietta Grant?" he asked. She nodded her head. "I haven't seen you since you were four years old," he said. "You were living as a Muggle, weren't you?"

Charlie laughed, "Dad is fascinated by Muggles, maybe you could show him how some of the things in the Hotel work when we pick up your things."

Mari smiled at Arthur, "I can do that," she said. "I have a whole house full of Muggle things," she told him. "When I send for my things, I'll be sure to have her send some of the more interesting things so that you can have a look at them."

Arthur grinned, "So what is this about picking up your things?"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I had only taken a few minutes for Charlie to pack her things with magic, but it had taken over an hour for Mari to show Arthur how everything in the room worked. They left the hotel and went to Diagon Alley. She was so excited about getting her wand, and Charlie had told her that she could get some robes too. This morning she had thought that magic was something from children's books, but now she had seen it for herself.

They visited Gringotts so that she would be able to visit her mother's vault, and collect some money. Then they headed toward the shop where she would get her wand. It took over an hour to find the wand that was meant for her, but when she held it in her hand the feeling was indescribable. After a quick stop for ice cream, the headed over to get her some robes.

Mari hated shopping, so she ordered three robes one each of blue, black and brown. The woman in the shop told her that they would be ready in an hour, so Charlie took her to meet two of his brothers.

They walked into Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, and she was quickly drawn to the displays. She walked over to one and held up the product that was sitting on the shelf. "Does this really turn you into a canary?" she asked.

Two red heads popped up from behind the counter, "Everything in here does exactly what the signs say they do," one said.

"Here, I'll show you," the other added.

Charlie stayed behind the large display for Whiz Bangs, and motioned for her to not let them know that he was there. Fred walked out from behind the counter and ate one of the canary creams, and was instantly turned into a large yellow canary.

George stepped out from behind the counter, "It only lasts a few minutes," he explained. "Tried these out on fellow classmates while we were at Hogwarts," he told her. He walked up and put out his hand. "George Weasley, the canary is my twin brother Fred."

Mari shook the extended hand, "Marietta Grant, very nice to meet you," she said.

"Where did you go to school," George asked her.

She smiled at him, "I attended school in the united states. I was sent there to live with my aunt when my mother died," she told him.

"Interesting, maybe you could tell me all about it over dinner," he said.

She laughed to herself silently, "I'm afraid that I can't do that. George, you did say your name was George right?"

He smiled at her, "Yes, George Weasley, half owner of this fine establishment." He led her over to the counter, "Why can't you have dinner with me?"

She leaned against the tall counter, "Because my mother promised someone that I would marry her son."

"It's just one dinner, he would never have to know," George told her, leaning in toward her ear. "I'm sure that the bloke couldn't be half as handsome as me."

She laughed, "I hate to say it, but I think that he's more that twice as handsome as you," she told him.

Charlie stepped out from behind the display, "And you would be wise not to keep hitting on the woman that was promised to me."

George stared at his older brother with his mouth hanging open. "Charlie, what are you doing here?"

Charlie walked up and put his arm around Mari, "I brought Mari to meet you and Fred, but when I saw how quickly the two of you came running out to assist her, I figured that I would see if you tried to pick her up."

Mari laughed and watched Fred loose his feathers and with a pop, return to his normal form.

"It was all George," Fred told them. "I already have a girlfriend."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Charlie led Mari back to the Leaky Cauldron and they flooed back to the Burrow. She fell out of the fireplace and onto another red haired man.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

She giggled and stood up, "I'm fine," she told him.

"And you are?" he asked, pulling himself up from the floor.

"Marietta Grant," she said and held out her hand.

He took the offered hand, "I'm Bill Weasley, what brings you to the Burrow?"

Just then Charlie stumbled out of the fireplace and right into Mari. They landed in a tangle of limbs, the sound of Mari's laughter ringing through the room. "Now Charlie, aren't you supposed to be better at this than me?" she asked. "I mean, it's understandable that I landed on someone when I came out of the fireplace, but haven't you done this enough that you should at least land on your feet." She stood up and put a hand out to help him up.

"Who did you land on?" he asked as he pulled himself up. He looked around the room and spotted Bill. "Bill, what are you doing home?"

Bill clapped his brother on the back, "I have a few days off then I have to bring Harry to Gringotts to sign some papers. The goblins figured that since our family knows him so well, that I would be the perfect person to bring him in for his meeting. They said something about shares in one of the wizarding world's newest and fastest growing enterprise."

Charlie turned back toward Mari, "Mari, I would like you to meet my brother Bill." He pulled out a chair at the table for her and conjured a tea set. "He works for Gringotts as a curse breaker." He leaned over to Bill, "Mari visited the wizarding world for the first time today and got her first wand."

Molly bustled into the kitchen her arms loaded down with photo albums. "Mari dear, I'm glad that you're back." She noticed her oldest son sitting at the table with her and Charlie, "And that you've met Bill," she said as she dropped the books on the table. "I pulled out all of the photos of you that I have. There are quite a few of you and your mum, and of you and the boys."

"I never had any pictures of when I was young, I guess I know why now. How would you explain moving pictures to anyone that hadn't seen them," she said as Molly handed her the first of the books open to a page with a picture of two small red haired boys and a dark haired girl. They were all standing in the Burrow's garden, one of the boys was holding a broom and the other had his arm around the girl's shoulders.

"The one with the broom is Bill, and the other two are you and Charlie," Molly told her.

She leaned close to the picture and watched as her younger self kissed Charlie on the cheek. "Charlie, you were just the cutest little boy!"


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next few days passed quickly for Mari. She spent her days learning from Charlie, Molly, Bill and occasionally Arthur. At the moment she was practicing household charms to help Molly. Ron and his fiancée Hermione, Ginny and Harry were arriving on the Hogwarts Express in a few hours. Molly wanted everything to be perfect, since she was having a graduation party for the three that had just finished Hogwarts.

Molly and Charlie had told her all about Ron and Harry's adventures, and about why Harry was famous. She just couldn't believe the stories that they had told her about how people treated the boy. She was just itching for someone to do it in front of her, she would set them straight. How dare they harass the young man, just because he was expected to destroy the most evil wizard that they had seen in a long time.

Mari had been shocked to hear how the boy's relatives had treated him, and how well he had turned out despite that. Molly loved him and thought of him as her seventh son, and the Weasley siblings that she had met so far concurred. She and Charlie had spent a lot of time alone, Mari knew that her mother wanted her to marry him, and she was finding out why with every minute she spent in their home.

Albus had visited every day, and had told her stories about her mother during her time at Hogwarts. Molly and Arthur had contributed their stories about her after she had graduated and while Mari was a small child. For the first time in her life, she felt that she knew things about her mother, and she was forming a picture of her life before she was sent to live with her aunt.

Charlie had gone to Hogwarts to speak with someone, he wouldn't tell her who. So here she was stringing decorations with her wand. She loved using her wand, she had never imagined that magic was possible. She finished putting up the decorations and headed for the kitchen where Molly was preparing a feast for her returning children.

"Mari, are the decorations finished already?" Molly asked her.

"Just finished putting up the banner," she answered as she picked up one of the many platters on the table. "Where should I put this?"

Molly turned around to tell her where to put the dish, screamed and dropped the pot that she was holding. Mari turned around to see what had upset her and saw the hands on the family clock. Arthur's was pointed at work, Bill, Fred, George, and Charlie were pointed at traveling. The ones that had upset her were the placement of Ron, Ginny, Harry and Hermione, all were pointing at mortal peril.

Mari grabbed the pot of floo powder and threw a pinch into the fire. "Arthur Weasley!" she shouted and shoved her head into the flames.

Her head appeared in Arthur's office just as he was about to throw a pinch of the powder into the flames. "Uncle Arthur, the kid's clock hands are at mortal peril, do you know what is going on?" she asked quickly.

"I was just about to call Molly. The Hogwarts Express is being attacked by Voldemort," he told her.

Mari pulled her head back and looked at Molly. "The Hogwarts Express is being attacked, we have to go and help them."

Molly looked at the dark haired woman in front of her. She was standing with her feet firmly planted, her wand drawn. She looked like someone ready for a fight. "I can't allow you to come, dear, Molly told her. "It wouldn't be safe for you and I can't have anything happening to you. I would never forgive myself if you were hurt or killed trying to save the kids."

Mari squared her shoulders, "Molly, as much as I respect you, I have to go and help. I would feel useless sitting here waiting for this to be over." She walked over and hugged the red haired woman. "Fred and George have been teaching me offensive and defensive spells, they knew that Voldemort would be bringing the war to Harry and they wanted me to be prepared to help. I've even been learning general healing spells from the books that Charlie has been getting me. He's been asking Madam Pomfrey for names of books so that I'll be able to help when the time comes."

Molly wiped her eyes, "You're determined to come and help, so I'll take you. But you have to keep yourself safe. As soon as I find Charlie, I'll send him to protect you."

Mari grabbed her arm, "Charlie needs to help protect Harry, and if that's where I end up, I'll do what I can to protect him too. He has to kill that monster, and if there is anything that I can do to help him, I will. Let's leave this argument for when we're all back here at the burrow, every Weasley sitting a the table eating the feast that you made."

With a pop, the two women disappeared from the kitchen, leaving the burrow empty.

They appeared in one of the cars of the Hogwarts Express, right in the middle of a fight. Both women drew their wands and started sending spells at the dark robed Death Eaters. A flash of red crossed in front of Mari, and Molly shoved it behind her. "Stay behind me Ginny, I don't want you getting hurt."

A very angry Ginny Weasley turned toward her mother, "I'm trying to get to Harry," she shouted. "That snake is going to try and kill him, I can't let him face Voldemort alone."

Mari touched the girl's shoulder and felt the world around her disappear. With a pop she and Ginny appeared in a small compartment. Right outside the door were three people, one with red hair, one with long bushy brown, and one with black. "Harry," she shouted as she threw the door open.

"Harry Potter," came a hissing voice from further down the aisle. "It is time for you to die."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Mari grabbed the dark haired boy and pulled him behind her. "I've only known about the wizarding world for a few days and I've already had enough of you," she shouted at the dark figure. "People that won't speak your name, leaving their homes to get away from you, you're nothing but a tyrant."

Ginny watched the dark haired woman that was with her mother, wondering who she was and why she would willingly put herself in front of Harry. Harry stepped out from behind her, "Sorry, but I'm the one that has to kill him," he said. A jet of green light shot toward the group. Mari saw it as if it was in slow motion, heading for this group of children that Molly loved. She threw her hand up and shouted, "No! I will not allow you to harm any of Molly's children."

The jet of green disappeared in a puff of smoke, and the gleeful laughing from the monster that had sent the spell stopped. "Who are you?" it asked.

Harry began quietly chanting, his wand touching the tips of the other three. Mari took a step toward the red eyed beast, "I am Marietta Grant and you killed my mother."

She could feel the magic building behind her, and knew that she should give them a few more seconds to do whatever it was that they were doing. She reached into her robe and pulled out one of the Decoy Detonators that George had given her. She took a step back and spoke quietly to the four teens behind her. "I'm going to use one of Fred and George's Decoy Detonators, be ready to run."

Harry looked up at her then turned to Ron. Ron looked over at Voldemort, then to Mari. "We've been working on this spell for over a year, Hermione created it, and we're sure that it's going to work. Let us finish this now, and then the Wizarding World will be free of him."

Ginny smiled at the woman, "My mum would be proud of you for trying to get us out of here. Maybe when we're done here, you could introduce yourself."

Harry finished chanting and turned toward Voldemort, "Your reign of terror is over Tom," he shouted. The four pointed their wands at Voldemort and shouted as one, "extermino venefictium!"

An unearthly scream filled the train car, and when the sound finally disappeared, Harry walked toward the huddled form at the end of the corridor. "You will never terrorize the Wizarding World again," he said.

"What have you done to me, child?" he asked.

Harry laughed and shot ropes from the end of his wand. "We removed your magic," he explained. "You are nothing more than a Muggle now." The door to the train car flew open and Molly charged through. She looked at each of them, and dropped to her knees in tears.

"You're all okay," she sobbed. Bill and Charlie came in behind their father, looking over the group standing at the other end of the hall.

"Mari," Charlie shouted. He walked to her quickly. "Why didn't you stay at the burrow?" he asked. "I know my mum and she wouldn't have let you come if you hadn't given her good reason."

Mari smiled and threw her arms around him. "I am so glad that you're alright."

Charlie pulled back from her hug, "I'm fine, you were the one in danger."

Ginny cleared her throat, "That's sweet and all, but you should have seen her make the killing curse disappear."

Charlie looked at his sister, and then at the rest of the group. Harry stepped up next to Charlie. "She threw up her hand and yelled no, and it just disappeared in a puff of smoke." He looked at her, "I'm Harry Potter, who are you?"

Mari laughed and extended her hand, "Marietta Grant, it's nice to finally meet you Harry. The Weasleys that have been at the burrow in the past few days speak highly of you."

"The whole Wizarding World will be speaking highly of all of you," Molly said. Arthur helped her up and led her to where her children were waiting. "I knew that the four of you would be at the center of the final battle, I'm just happy that you're all alright."

"Not a scratch on us mum," Ron told her. "Hermione had the spell all worked out, all we had to do was cast it."

"I never expected it to be that easy," Hermione said. She turned to Mari, "Thank you, if you hadn't stopped that curse, one of us would be dead."

Molly hugged each of them, "Let's find an auror, turn him over to them and go home."

* * *

The group arrived at the burrow, with an auror escort. Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt searched the house before allowing them to go in. Molly headed straight for the kitchen, to put her feast on the table.

"When mum told me that you touched Ginny and disappeared, I didn't know what to think. I searched most of the train before we heard that horrible scream." Charlie told her. He sat down on the nearest chair and pulled her into his lap. "I wanted you to be okay. I wanted to find you and Ginny locked in some compartment, not able to get out. That way you both would have been safe."

Mari looked into his eyes, "I only wanted to comfort her, but when I touched her we ended up in the compartment behind Harry, Ron and Hermione." She put her head on his shoulder, "I never expected to be right there when he rid the world of him. I thought that maybe I would be in some compartment taking care of minor injuries."

Ginny watched her brother and Mari for a few minutes then went into the kitchen to talk to her mother. "Mum," she said. "Who is Mari?"

Molly smiled at her daughter. "Mari is the daughter of a friend I lost to Voldemort in the first war. When she was killed, I offered to take care of Mari, but she was sent to live with her Muggle aunt. She came to England searching for Dumbledore, and Charlie ran into her, knocked her down actually. He brought her here, and I called Albus."

"No mum," she said. "I mean who is she to Charlie? They're in the other room, and she's sitting on his lap."

Molly sat the bowl she was holding on the table. "That's a long story, but the end result is that her mother promised her to Charlie when they were three. So eventually, she might be your sister-in-law."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ginny stared at her mother for a few seconds, "Wait a minute, you mean that she was supposed to marry Charlie when they graduated from Hogwarts?"

Molly sighed and dropped down into the chair across from Ginny. "Lucy and I were best friends. When I got pregnant with Charlie, it was only a few weeks later that she found out that she was having Mari. She was here when she went into labor, your father stayed with Bill and Charlie while the midwife and I helped her deliver Mari." She conjured a pot of tea and two cups, handing one to Ginny. "When she was finally here, your father brought Bill and a three week old Charlie up to see the baby. Bill kept staring at her, he called her is sister." She took a sip of tea, "As she and Charlie grew up, we could see something there. Charlie would never cry when she was nearby, and the same with her. When they were two, a garden gnome stole her dolly. When Lucy and I got into the garden, Charlie was sitting on the gnome pulling on its ears and nose. Mari was sitting next to him, her doll in her arms and one of Charlie's hands in hers."

Ginny smiled thinking about her two year old brother beating up a gnome over Mari's doll. "Were they always close?"

Molly laughed and summoned the photo albums from when Charlie and Mari were young. "Have a look for yourself; I'm going to finish cooking so that we can eat."

Ginny took the stack of albums and stepped into the other room. She motioned for Harry, Ron and Hermione to join her, since the three were staring at Charlie and Mari. She led the other three upstairs to her room and shut the door behind them.

"What's with that girl and Charlie?" Ron asked.

Ginny sat down on the bed and opened the first book. "Well, mum says that her mother promised her to Charlie when they were three, so she may end up being a Weasley."

Hermione and Ron sat down on the bed, and Ginny slid over so that Harry could sit next to her. "These have pictures of the two of them. Mum told me a story about when they were two," she said, then told them the story that she had just heard.

"That is just so sweet," Hermione gushed when Ginny had finished.

"I'm sure that Ron would have done the same for you," Harry remarked, making Ron blush.

Ginny turned the pages of the album, stopping every time she came across a picture with the dark haired little girl in it.

"Awwww, look at that," Hermione said, pointing to a picture of Charlie and Mari. The dark haired girl was looking down at a biscuit in the grass and Charlie was breaking his biscuit in half and offering part of it to her.

"I would never believe it if I hadn't seen it," Ginny said. "a Weasley male sharing food, unbelievable."

Harry laughed and pointed to another picture, this one of Mari and Charlie playing dress-up with what must have been Molly's robes. Charlie wearing a ruffled blue robe, and Mari wearing the same robe in green.

They spent quite awhile looking through the pictures, until Molly called them for dinner.

When they got to the kitchen, Mari was helping Molly to get everything on the table. Ginny put the albums down and went to lend a hand. "Ginny dear, could you get the jug of pumpkin juice?" her mother asked. Ginny smiled at the two women and put the jug on the table.

* * *

The four teens cornered Mari as she was setting the dishes to wash themselves. "Mari, why did you come to England?" Ginny asked.

Mari sat down at the table and motioned for them to join her. She quickly conjured a tea set and poured for them. "My aunt was a Muggle, and she died about two weeks ago. She pleaded with me to find Albus Dumbledore to find out more about my mother. I got to London, and searched everywhere I could think of, but I couldn't find him. I had been walking around London, and just felt drawn down the street where I met Charlie."

"It must have been your magic pulling you toward Diagon Alley," Hermione said.

"I don't know," Mari answered. "Charlie came out of that pub and we ran into each other. He's a lot more solid than me, I landed on the ground. He helped me up and bought me tea, then brought me here."

"How did you get here?" Hermione asked.

"Well, he suggested that we travel by floo, and I laughed at him. He finally apperated the both of us into the garden."

"Dual apperation is difficult, I'm surprised that you didn't leave anything behind," Hermione commented.

"That's the first thing he said to me, 'you might want to check and make sure that we didn't leave any parts behind.' I didn't understand then, but Molly explained how hard it is to apperate two people." She took a sip of her tea, "Well, Molly called Albus and he suggested that I stay here and learn from Molly, Charlie and the four of you, when you got home."

Ginny grinned, "I hear that you might marry my brother," she said. "You do know that he lives in Romania, and works with Dragons?"

Mari stared at the girl, "No, I didn't know that." She looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "I don't think that I would mind working with Dragons, are they as bad as the Muggle stories about them?"

Harry laughed, "I'll put my memories of the tri-wizard tournament in a pensieve sometime and you can tell me."

Mari looked around at the laughing group, and noticed a strange glowing around the two distinct couples. Ron and Hermione were glowing a dark red color, she thought that it looked like a beautiful halo, and around Ginny and Harry was glowing a rich gold. Before they could ask what she was staring at, her eyes rolled up in her head and she dropped from her chair.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Ginny jumped up and ran for the other room, calling for her mother. Harry and Ron picked Mari up off of the floor and carried her into where the rest of the family was. Arthur jumped up off of the sofa, allowing the two boys to lay her down. Charlie dropped down on the floor next to her and took her hand. "What happened?" he asked.

While the four teens explained, Molly cast a quick enervate on Mari. "What am I doing in here?" she asked. "I was sitting in the kitchen, looking at the beautiful halo that forms around Ron and Hermione, and Harry and Ginny." She looked around the room at each of the faces. "It's like the one that forms around Arthur and Molly when they get close to each other." She looked at Molly and Arthur, "Yours is a dark blue," she told them, and then looked over at Ron and Hermione. "Yours is dark red." She then looked at Harry and Ginny, "Yours is the most unusual that I've ever seen, its gold. But not the gaudy color they use for cheap jewelry. It's almost the color of those old goblets that were used long ago."

Charlie laughed, "Mari, in the Wizarding World, we use goblets all of the time."

Molly slapped him in the back of the head. "Have you always been able to see the halos?" she asked.

Mari smiled, "Ever since I was about seven or eight. My aunt thought that it was something wrong with my eyesight."

"You're just seeing auras," Molly told her. "A lot of witches and wizards can see them."

Mari sat up, "That doesn't explain me fainting." Molly patted her on the head.

"I'm sure that it's nothing dear," Molly said. "We'll have Madam Pomfrey check you out tomorrow."

* * *

The next morning, Charlie took Mari to Hogwarts. Madam Pomfrey checked her out and found nothing wrong. "You seem to be in perfect health," the medi-witch told her.

"It was probably just delayed shock," she said.

Madam Pomfrey nodded her head. "It could very well have been. I heard that you were trying to protect Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione."

Charlie ran his hand through Mari's hair. "They tell me that she destroyed a killing curse that was sent at them."

Madam Pomfrey patted her arm. "I'm sure that you will be just fine. I'll floo Albus, the two of you can head up to his office," she said as she walked into her office.

Charlie led her through the castle, stopping when they arrived at the gargoyle that guarded the entrance to the Headmaster's office. "Hermione said that she will have a schedule worked out for your lessons when we get back," he told her.

"If I believe Harry and Ron, she's only going to leave me about an hour to eat all three of my meals and to spend with you," she laughed.

Charlie put his arm around her. "I've heard stories like that from them. I'm sure that they were just exaggerating."

* * *

Hermione was waiting for them when they walked in the door. "I have your schedule all worked out," she told Mari. "There's not much time left over, but I'm sure that you want to learn everything as quickly as possible."

Mari and Charlie sat down at the table and looked over the schedule. "Hermione, I'm afraid that she is going to need a bit more time for household spells, and healing and a lot less in transfiguration, defense and history of magic," Charlie said as he handed the schedule back to Hermione.

"I'm trying to give her enough education that she can take her N.E.W.T.s," Hermione said.

Mari looked at the schedule again, "Hermione, I already have my career chosen. I have a Muggle degree in Veterinary Medicine, healing is the most important thing that I can learn."

Hermione looked crestfallen, "But don't you want to learn everything?"

"Hermione," Mari said, taking the girl's hand. "I'm a vet, I love working with animals. I'm sure that even if there isn't a job in the Wizarding World for me, there will be in the Muggle world. I can live in both, if Charlie can."

Hermione picked up the schedule and stood up, "I guess that I have to change this around."

Charlie smiled at her, "Make sure that you leave plenty of time for Mari and I to spend together. That's the only way that she'll know if she wants to marry me."

When Hermione left the room, Mari turned to him. "Honestly Charlie, I can tell you right now that I'm going to marry you. There is nowhere in the Wizarding World or the Muggle World that I could find someone as wonderful as you." She leaned forward and kissed him. "I just have one question," she said.

Charlie cleared his throat, "And what would that be?"

"Are we going to move to Romania?" she asked.

* * *

Molly stood outside the kitchen door with tears in her eyes, waiting for her sons answer. She would be planning a wedding for Charlie soon. 


End file.
